Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) Reaches New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Pilgrim's Pride hit a new 52-week low, trading as low as $28.83, well below its recent close of $29.10.
• Recent analyst sentiment is mixed but cautious: the stock’s consensus rating is Hold with a consensus target price of $40.25, though Zacks recently downgraded it to strong sell.
• The company’s latest earnings missed profit estimates, with quarterly EPS of $0.51 versus the expected $0.69, even though revenue came in slightly above forecasts at $4.53 billion.

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $28.83 and last traded at $28.8320, with a volume of 22882 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $29.10.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Stephens set a $40.00 price target on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Pilgrim's Pride from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays upgraded Pilgrim's Pride from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.25.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $36.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.55. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 0.33.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.69 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.43 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Pilgrim's Pride

In other Pilgrim's Pride news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,963 shares of Pilgrim's Pride stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.52, for a total transaction of $303,029.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 91,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,977,597.44. The trade was a 7.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 82.23% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pilgrim's Pride

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 1,522.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,006 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

About Pilgrim's Pride

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim's Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company's vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.

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